Feature use scenario:

  • I hover the mouse pointer over a username
  • The small box that appears (the one that currently shows basic stats: when they joined, how many posts they have written, etc.) contains also a textarea field
  • Whatever I write in that field persists between my logins, until I edit it again (if ever)
  • The contents of that field are only visible to me

Motivation: As I read LW more, I'm starting to attribute expertise in some subjects to some users. And conversely, I'm noticing specific biases in other users. I would like to privately keep note of that, so that I can more precisely trust/distrust what they write in the future.

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Prediction: The two most common notes would be "Note - Not jacobjacob" and "Note - Not Jacobian"

I notice wanting the opposite.  I notice prejudging certain posts based on the user, but want to just look at the content instead.

(I think Marcello made a script for this at some point)

I believe [this](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ftbtZy9dBmYC5StQz/lesswrong-v2-0-anti-kibitzer-hides-comment-authors-and-vote) is what you are referring to. I have the same preference as you and I use Marcello's script.

greaterwrong has the anti-kibitzer mode which hides username and karma.

Yeah but I'm a big fan of LW proper's aesthetics.  I always found myself bouncing back when I try GW.

Do you feel that way about all the themes? Ideally I'd like it to have something for everyone.

Yes, I feel this way about all the themes.

Fair enough. Personally I enjoy GW's pragmatic style.

I see both privacy issues (without pretty strong guarantees, at least site admins will be able to see my notes) and personal-bias issues (it's likely to make me over-weight opinions that I put into this field).  I would likely not use it very much, but I don't object to others doing so.  I wonder if keeping a separate notepad or app would get you 80% of the way there.

I also wonder if tagging of users (public, and limited complexity of comment) would be more useful or annoying.

I'd like to use this feature, especially to keep track if I meet a user in the walled garden or IRL but need consistency to remember which user they are. This is a common feature in video games and without it I would have no idea who most of my friends in League of Legends are.

I wouldn't be that worried about privacy for the notes, since I'd expect few of them to contain sensitive information, though they might contain some awkward information.

GreaterWrong has the ability to automatically collapse comments from a given user. I could make it hide posts too if there's a desire for that.

Yes! i like this suggestion, and would probably use the feature if it was implemented. discord has it and i use it, could be quite useful here.